Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Abbreviated
Key Title: Sch Int J Linguist Lit
ISSN 2616-8677 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3468 (Online)
Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com
Original Research Article
Effect of Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Dyah Purwita Wardani1*, Diah Anggesti Pratiwi2, Imam Basuki3, Erna Cahyawati4 , Ghanesya Hari Murti5
1,2,3,4,5English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Jember, Indonesia
DOI: 10.36348/sijll 2022 v05i11 003
*Corresponding author: Dyah Purwita Wardani
| Received: 30 09.2022 | Accepted: 06 11.2022 | Published: 22.11.2022
English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Jember, Indonesia
Abstract
The Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka. This novel tells about a young man named Gregor Samsa who has experienced alienation. This research aims to understand the effects of alienation experienced by Gregor Samsa as a major characterin The Metamorphosis. Erich Fromm's theory about three mechanisms of escape is used to analyse the effort of Gregor Samsa in solving his psychological problem of alienation. Modern man usually uses three mechanisms of escape by Erich Fromm to reduce the feeling of fear and isolation of burdened freedom when they want to be free. This research uses qualitative research in which the data are in the form of words and sentences in this novella. This study applies the documentary method as the technique of data collection. The data can be taken from various sources, such as documents, books, and journals. This research shows that Gregor Samsa’s alienation has influenced his entire life, family, and society.
Keywords: Alienation, Erich Fromm, psychological conflict.
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited
INTRODUCTION
The Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka. Franz Kafka was born on July 3, 1833, in Prague, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the oldest surviving child of Jewish parents. His father, Hermann Kafka, is a successful businessman. He could not thank his son for wanting to be his writer. The problem caused anxiety in the relationship between father and son. Ultimately, Kafka's strained relationship with his father became a key component of Kafka's personality, leading to a lifelong sense of guilt, fear, and lack of self-confidence in most of his works.
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he was transformed into a gigantic insect in his bed. He was lying on his hard, as it was armour-plated back, and when he lifted his head a little, he could see his dome-like brown belly (Kafka, 1912, p. 1).
The writer of The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), mobilises fantasy resources based on the image of private life. Kundera states that Kafka’s work is the best example of a radical autonomy novel, the poem in the form of a novel (1988). This autonomy pushes Kafka to declare the human condition that can never be expressed by social or political thought. The absurdity of Kafka’s work often is interpreted as a
mental illness and frustration of the author of the modern bureaucracy. It depicts the difficulty of living in modern society and the struggle to be accepted by others when necessary. In this novel, Kafka directly reflects many negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. Most of Kafka's works are based on actual events in his life. In real life, Kafka had a complicated relationship with his parents. In his literary works, Kafka's characters often encountered a superiority complex.
In The Metamorphosis, the delineation of Gregor’s character has been hard-earned to help his family, and then he ignores his life until he changes into a monstrous verminous bug. Finally, he realises that his life looks like a cockroach who spends his time earning money without thinking about himself.
The Metamorphosis not only talks about psychoanalysis but also about Marxist theory. There is a relationship between the psychology of the principal character and Samsa's society. On the first page of the novella, Gregor talks about the condition of his works. He has to work as a travelling salesman to support his family and pay off his father's debts from his failing business. Lying in bed, he recounts his life as a travelling salesman. ―Day in, day out on the road... I've got the torture of travelling, worrying about changing
Citation: Dyah Purwita Wardani, Diah Anggesti Pratiwi, Imam Basuki, Erna Cahyawati, Ghanesya Hari Murti (2022).
Effect of Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis Sch Int J Linguist Lit, 5(11): 387-394
trains, eating miserable food at all hours..." (Kafka & Corngold, 2004, p. 12)
Metamorphosis is one process of transformation into a new shape. There are two definitions of Metamorphosis. First, based on the dictionary, A metamorphosis is a significant change in the appearance or personality of someone or something. Second, biologically speaking, Metamorphosis is the significant change in the shape or structure of an animal or insect that occurs as the animal or insect becomes an adult. Metamorphosis also means a change in physical form, structure, or matter, especially by supernatural means. The transformation takes place in the main character, Gregor Samsa. (Fromm, 2001) the theory is used to analyse this novella and focuses on how humans as modern men escape from a psychological problem caused by alienation (2001). Erich Fromm's theory on Marxism psychoanalysis is used to find how Gregor Samsa, as a prominent character, solves his psychological problem.
Some articles talk about Kafka's Metamorphosis. Straus (1989) discussed the transformation of Samsa as a major character. However, the journal's content discusses Grete as a sister of Samsa. Furthermore, not only the character of Grete is discussed in this journal, but also Samsa as a major character. Besides, Straus tries to explore Kafka as a writer of a novella. Strauss also explores the possibility of transformation. It can be read as a disclosure of the plight and tragic solution of a man caught between his shameful desire to identify with a woman and his realisation that he cannot identify with a man. Kafka's book as mentioned earlier, the theories used in the magazine are primarily feminist theories, as the magazine's extensive discussion is also about Grete. Meanwhile, Kohzadi (2012) narrated the era of literary work and the psychological approach they used in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Kohzadi discussed alienation experienced by the principal character, but it seems insufficient for them. The writers also try to explore the Metamorphosis, which is looked at from a philosophical side. Kohzadi tries to explore the significant character in his existence in this world.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Fromm’s Marxism Psychoanalysis Theory
In his article, Marxism, Psychoanalysis and Reality, Fromm (1966, p. 3) talks about psychoanalysis and Marxism. Psychoanalysis and Marxism cannot be separated. Psychoanalysis needs modification by Marxist concepts, and Marxism also needs the addition of psychological concepts. Fromm also points out that the theories of Freud and Marx have common elements in the assumption that forces move humans. Their knowledge and consciousness lead to liberation only within limits set by society and human nature.
Psychology not only talks about the problem of psychics but also the relation with other aspects, such as the relation with art. In this case, it is about the relationship between psychology and alienation. Alienation is a condition where someone is shoved aside by their society. For Marx, alienation (or "alienation") means just that a person does not feel that he is acting in an understanding of the world, but the world (nature, others and himself) remains alien to him. They may be objects of his creation, but they stand as objects above and against him. Alienation is essentially the passive, receptive experience of the world and oneself when the subject is separated from the object. Alienation is an excellent example of the necessity to join psychology and Marxism. In this thesis, the main character has been alienated from him. He does not care about himself. This condition makes him use up his time to work and does not care about him making him become proletariat or working class.
Alienated people have little confidence, and they cannot respect themselves in case to answer the hopes of other people (Sullivan & Perry, 1974) Fromm (1966) proposed a version of socialism called humanism or communalism as a countermeasure to alienation. This kind of socialism does not emphasise income equalisation or profit sharing. The emphasis is on creating workplaces where workers can control the pace and form of production. Rather than being isolated from each other and denied the opportunity to develop their creative energies, workers in socialist systems work in associative and creative activities.
Erich Fromm's book Fear of Liberty and its relevance from today's libertarian perspective was published in 1941 against fascism and Stalinism. Psychologist and social philosopher, Erich Fromm's work deals with the psychological aspects of modern human freedom. He believes that modern man's freedom allows him psychological independence and rationality and that isolation makes him fearful and helpless. He believed that we are faced with a choice: to move forward again in the human world or move towards fully realising positive freedom based on human uniqueness and individuality. People can use one of three escape mechanisms to reduce loneliness: authoritarian, destructive and adaptable.
The type of this research is qualitative research. According to Denscombe, qualitative research tends to be associated with words or images as the unit of analysis (2021). Qualitative research is to explain and explore the information and the facts. This research applies qualitative research to strengthen the opinion based on the data collected.
Erich Fromm’s Marxism psychoanalysis was applied in this research. This research discusses the alienation that Gregor Samsa experiences as a major character in “The Metamorphosis”. Start by analysing
the first time he wakes up and discovers that he is transformed into an insect (cockroach). Finally, the analysis is brought to following analysis about the definition of the absurdity of the Metamorphosis he experiences. Then, it is analysed the relationship between Gregor Samsa and his family, his daily life, and how it is a condition in his work. The analysis uses primary data that are taken from the novel.
The analysis is continued by analysing the influence of Gregor's Metamorphosis on his society and how he escapes from his psychological problem. Then, the analysis continues to find out the writer's critical point of view related to real life. The analysis uses secondary data from books, journals, articles and the internet.
DISCUSSION
Gregor Samsa’s Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is one process of transformation into a new shape. Metamorphosis has two definitions. First, according to the dictionary, Metamorphosis is a significant change in the appearance or character of someone or something (www.Dictionary.com/browse/metamorphosis). Second, in the Biological term, Metamorphosis is a significant change in the form or structure of some animals or insects that happens as the animal or insect becomes an adult. Metamorphosis also means a change of physical form, structure, or substance, especially by supernatural means (http://www.MerriamWebster.com/dictionary/metamor phosis).
Gregor Samsa is a young man who lives with his parent and his sister. He dedicates all of his life to a job and earns money to fulfil his family’s financial needs. He spends all his time working without paying attention to himself, but Samsa seems to enjoy this condition and focuses on getting a lot of money to pay his family's debt. This condition constitutes the beginning of the problem that changes all of his life.
―As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.’ ―What happened to me, he thought. It was no dream‖ (Kafka, 1912:1).
Gregor Samsa's Metamorphosis can be interpreted into his behaviour in real life and as a symbol of his personality. The delineation of Samsa as a man who has hard-earned to help his family and ignores his life. A cockroach can be interpreted as an animal that looks like Samsa that ignores his life.
This condition can be seen in Samsa’s transformation into a cockroach. The first thing that comes to mind is not his transformation but his job the job he hates and wants to quit. Samsa worries about coming late to the office and must leave to work and earn a lot of money to help his father pay his debt.
―He looked at the alarm clock ticking on the chest. Heavenly Father! he thought. It was half-past six o'clock, and the hands were quietly moving on. It was even past the half-hour. It was getting on toward a quarter to seven. Had the alarm clock not gone off?
From the bed, one could see that it had been properly set for four o'clock; of course, it must have gone off‖ (Kafka, 1912:3).
Alienation resulted from low productivity levels, human subordination to land, and the hegemony of the feudal ruling class (Goard, 2012). Here, the difference in class between Gregor Samsa and the office manager also influences the principal character. His manager wants Samsa to come on time to the office. As a travelling salesman, Samsa must follow his order, and this situation makes him depressed. The reality that he lives under his office manager and his father, who presses him to pay his family's debt and must work hard, makes him alienated and ignores himself and society. Background of Gregor Samsa’s Family and their condition.
Mr. Samsa (Gregor father)
Gregor's father, Mr Samsa, is considered the dominant figure in this family. When his job fails, he turns over the duty of caring for the family to Gregor. His father was holding himself very erect, dressed in a tight-fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, the kind worn by messengers at banking concerns; above the high stiff collar of the jacket, his heavy chin protruded; under his bushy eyebrows, his black eyes darted bright, piercing glances; his usually rumpled white hair was combed flat, with a scrupulously exact, gleaming part (Kafka, 1912:43).
Mr Samsa becomes a bank messenger. He feels very proud and feels his authority back after failing the job. He feels proud because the uniform is luxurious with gold buttons, even though he is just enough to be a messenger in the bank.
Bank messenger is just a low position, and it does not seem very easy to fulfil their daily needs as a breadwinner in a family with four members. Czech leaders proclaimed the Slavic League at the Prague Slavic Congress of 1848, but this did not affect the Czech economy. German is becoming one of the most critical components of the Czech economy. Germany was more important than what Austria offered, and Germany's centralist and nationalistic tendencies were entirely unacceptable to the Czechs, so they supported Austria economically and politically. German influence on Czech but not influences in politics but economy and management. Finally, after German was industrialised, the Czechs realised that the economy and management must be their own, not for the economy and prosperity of the local ethnic Germans and Austria.
The condition where the Czech alliance with Austria and Germany influenced the economy also influenced Gregor’s family. It can be seen from his father’s failure as a shop owner, and finally, Mr Samsa has a new job as a bank messenger, a lower position in the bank. However, at last, Mr Samsa lost his job as a bank messenger. Mr Samsa gives responsibility to his son to become a breadwinner. As a son in his family, Gregor Samsa has a big responsibility.
Mr Samsa always gives responsibility to Gregor to back up their family need and pay family debt. The characteristic of Mr Samsa that puts pressure on Gregor automatically influences Gregor's psychological condition. Moreover, Gregor Samsa has hardly earned to help his family and ignores his life, but his family does not care about him. He works as a travelling salesman to support his family and pay off his father's debts due to a failed business. Gregor lies in bed and comments on his life as a travelling salesman but has no choice but to continue his monotonous work. Gregor knows that the only way he can survive is to keep working, even if the job does not bring him benefits other than a meagre salary.
"Those had been wonderful times, and they had never returned, at least not with the same glory, although later on, Gregor earned enough money to meet the entire family's expenses and did so. They had just gotten used to it, the family and Gregor. The money was received with thanks and given with pleasure" (Kafka, 1912:29).
The first thing that comes to Gregor’s mind is how to earn much money without caring about his feeling and live as a human. The important thing is that Gregor gets money and receives pleasure. Gregor’s family also has the same attitude as Gregor. They received money without paying attention to Gregor. They are disappointed and angry with Gregor when Gregor does not get money.
Mrs. Samsa (Gregor’s mother)
The Samsa family is a middle-class family that lives in a small apartment. Mrs Samsa Gregor’s mother is like another mother in this world, with an apprehensive and gentle character. She regarded her child, Gregor and Grete, very gently. It can be seen in the story when the writer consistently adds "cautiously" and ―gently‖ to every activity of Gregor’s mother. As a woman who lives as a housewife, Mrs Samsa knew that the family's finances were in bad condition. As a mother and housewife, she tries to give enormous affection to her child, especially Gregor.
Mrs Samsa, Gregor’s mother, is sympathetic to complete Mr Samsa's domineering. She is constantly proclaiming her maternal love for her poor son Gregor. She even throws herself on Mr Samsa to beg for Gregor's life:
Gregor saw his mother run up to his father and, on the way, her unfastened petticoats slide to the floor one by
one; and saw as, stumbling over the skirts, she forced herself onto his father and embracing him, in complete union with him – but now Gregor's sight went dim – her hands clasping his father's neck, begged for Gregor's life (Kafka, 1912:45).
The quotation above shows how big her love for Gregor is. She is ungrudgingly begging his husband for his son's life. Her love is shown when she runs to Gregor's father and stumbles over her skirt, but she does not care and still begs her husband.
His family has never loved Gregor. This condition increases the pressure on Gregor. He considers that his mother felt sorry for his condition. Gregor’s mother never realises that her characteristic increases the pressure on Gregor. She knows that she loves his son but does not know how to treat his child.
Grete Samsa (Gregor’s sister)
Grete Samsa is Gregor's sister, a young woman approaching adulthood. She was in the limelight of her family, Grete doing nothing, and she spent her time just playing the violin. Grete does not appear in the story. She is the voice behind the wall trying to get Gregor to open her bedroom door. Unlike her parents, when Gregor refuses to open the door for him, Grete starts moaning and crying.
As the story progresses, Grete grows from a young blue-eyed girl into a confident young woman. She is no longer Gregor's fugitive sister who needs to be protected from the big imperfect world and the big nasty bug. She is the only one in her family who can meet Gregor in his new body and who can read and respond to his needs. [His sister] came in on tiptoe as if she were visiting someone seriously ill or perhaps even a stranger (Kafka, 1912:39).
By the way, her new responsibilities elevate her status in the eyes of her parents and herself. Perhaps, however, the romantic enthusiasm of girls her age, which seeks to indulge itself at every opportunity, played a part by tempting her to make Gregor's situation even more terrifying so that she might do even more for him. (Kafka, 1912:56)
When it comes down to it, she has to work as a clerk all day and study at night. Gregor is no longer a scourge for her beauty but a boring duty. It is the final straw when he ruins a violin concert. She refused to call him her brother, insisting he should be disposed of like an old household pest. From the explanation above, Grete is a young woman with a good attitude. It can be seen from her attention to her brother, Gregor.
Along with her age, Grete grows as a young woman who takes responsibility for Gregor as a breadwinner. She works and treats Gregor as a brother,
although he has changed into an insect. Grete gives her love to Gregor. Moreover, she cleans up Gregor’s room to make him feel comfortable. Nevertheless, at the end of the story, Grete decides to allow Gregor to leave and tells her father that the cockroach is not Gregor anymore. Grete wants his brother to leave his room because she feels sorry and the room is not suitable for him.
Fromm’s Theory in Samsa’s Effort to Escape from Psychological Condition
After Gregor’s Metamorphosis, the condition of Samsa’s family changed, particularly their financial condition. Gregor, who fulfils his family's needs, can no longer work and earn money. In this Metamorphosis, Gregor thinks about what happened until he changes into a giant insect. Gregor starts to review his life all this time in the long thought. Then, he realises that he wastes time dedicating his life to family without paying attention to himself.
On the other hand, after Gregor changes into an insect and realises that he devotes his life to work to support his family, he fails to develop a sense of individuality. Once he develops his sense, he is forced to focus on himself because of his situation, and his family becomes angry because Gregor is too selfish to realise that Gregor gives them a burden. Gregor has worked his whole life supporting his family, which explains a symbol of why Gregor changes into an insect. Gregor’s delineation as a giant insect can be seen from his behaviour. Gregor lives and works as an insect who works for the good of the colony. Once his family is forced to support themselves, they finally regard Gregor as a necessary component of their survival.
After all the incidents in his life, Gregor starts to realise that he cannot keep silent about his condition. Then he finds a way to leave or solve his alienated or aloneness problem. He starts to pay attention to himself and tries to get his freedom from alienated problems. Gregor tries to make him exist in his family and society as a human, not only as labour who dedicates his life to family but also as a family component and as a child from Mr and Mrs Samsa. Gregor tries to get his freedom from his alienated problem. Freedom is the right and ability of people to direct their actions whereas a community maximises human potential.
According to Erich Fromm, "Liberation from the traditional bondage of medieval society gives the individual a new sense of independence, but at the same time makes him feel lonely and isolated, fills him with doubt and fear, and makes him a new subject." to compulsive and irrational activities‖ (Fromm, 2001). Gregor tries to get his freedom, but with his new shape, it is hard to make Gregor’s family aware of his existence of him, in particular, his society. They may feel frightened by a new configuration of Gregor. This
problem makes Gregor challenging to go from his alienated problem and makes his freedom burdened. Fromm believes that the freedom of modern man allows psychological independence and rationality on the one hand, but on the other, he is isolated, which makes him fearful and helpless. Continuation of the acquisition of obedience, or approaching the full realisation of positive freedom, is based on human uniqueness and individuality.
Gregor chooses to escape his burdened freedom to reduce his frightening sense of isolation and aloneness. There are three mechanisms of escape, Authoritarianism, Destructiveness and Conformity (Fromm, 2013).
Authoritarianism is one escape mechanism in which someone is inclined to sacrifice his independence to ally with something more powerful. Authoritarianism is divided into masochistic and sadistic tendencies (Fromm, 2001)
Destructiveness is the mechanism of escape aimed at destroying other people or their properties (Fromm, 2001). Furthermore, conformity is one of three mechanisms of escape that has a way of submitting human individuality into desire. This particular mechanism is the solution most ordinary individuals find in modern society. At last, the automatisation of the individual in modern society has increased the helplessness and insecurity of the average individual.
As mentioned, one escape mechanism is authoritarianism, meaning someone is trying to sacrifice freedom to ally with something more powerful. Authoritarianism is divided into two, masochistic and sadistic. Masochistic was a condition when someone inflicted on oneself either by one’s actions or others. The most common manifestations of masochistic tendencies are feelings of inferiority, helplessness, and personal helplessness (Hanly, 2005; Ionica, 2013). Meanwhile, Sadistic is the opposite of masochism. Sadism is provoked by parents' need for an idealised and altruistic self-image, which is obtaining pleasure or sexual gratification from extreme deeds (Martens, 2011) In fact, at the beginning of Metamorphosis, Gregor does not experience both masochism and sadism. He did not complain about his change. He asks why he transformed into a giant insect.
One escape mechanism is destructive, aimed at destroying another person or their property. According to Fromm, destructiveness is different because it does not aim at active or passive symbiosis but at eliminating that purpose is rooted in unbearable news of individual powerlessness and isolation. For example, when somebody feels powerless, they can overcome their problem by destroying it, but when they succeed in removing the problem, the feeling of being alone and isolated comes.
In this novella, Gregor does not experience any destructiveness. When he realises that he has changed into a giant insect, Gregor does not try to destroy any object in his room and faces his transformation ungrudgingly. He tries to get down of bed, to go to work. Then, Gregor tries to sleep again and forget all the nonsense he experienced, but Gregor cancels the plan to return to sleep; he feels strange in this condition because he cannot sleep on his right side. Although he tried a hundred times, the condition was still the same, and he started to feel headaches that he had never experienced before. After his transformation, he thinks about a relatively normal subject, like his family’s financial situation, his job, how he comes on time, and his physical comfort. Gregor never thinks about his transformation or trying to destroy an object in his room. The first thing that comes to Gregor is his job.
Gregor decides to adopt a personality that is offered by his family and make himself subservient to his life family. Slowly, he feels that there is an incompatibility between the world and himself, in the case where the other man the same age as him enjoys his life while he spends his time working and paying the family debt. Finally, the last feeling is being alone. As explained before, conformity is one of the mechanisms of modern escape man uses to resolve his burdened freedom. Substantively, the individual ceases to be himself and adopts entirely the kind of personality offered to him by cultural patterns. Therefore, he becomes exactly like all others, and they expect him to be. At last, in the journey to find himself, he finds a discrepancy between the world and himself but slowly disappears with the conscious fear of aloneness and powerlessness.
At that time, Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair (Kafka, 1912:29).
When he started earning money to support his family, his parents showed great gratitude, which Gregor enjoyed. As he adjusted to the dynamic, his parents' gratitude faded, and Gregor no longer took the same pleasure in caring for them.
Conformity can be compared with the protective colouring some animals assume. They look so similar to their surroundings that they are hardly distinguishable from them. The person who gives up himself and becomes an automaton, identical to millions of other automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. Still, the price he pays, however, is high. It is the loss of himself. At the end of his life, Gregor is rejected by his sister and alienated from his family. Indeed from any human being, his usefulness to everyone runs out.
"He watched as it slowly began to get light everywhere outside the window too. Then, without his willing it, his head sank completely, and his last breath flowed weakly from his nostrils" (Kafka, 1912, p. 39).
The assumption that the standard way of overcoming aloneness is to become an automaton contradicts one of the most general ideas concerning man in our culture. Most of us are supposed to be individuals who are free to think, feel, and act as we please.
As cited in H.S Sullivan (1974) about schizophrenia research, This is not a popular opinion about modern individualism. However, each individual genuinely believes that he or she is 'him' and that his thoughts, feelings and desires are 'him'. However, while there are genuine individuals among us, for the most part, this belief is an illusion and a dangerous one because it prevents eliminating the conditions that cause it.
Writer's critical point of view in The Metamorphosis
When the Metamorphosis was written, Prague was the capital of Bohemia and part of the AustroHungarian Empire. Prague was Austria's third largest city in the Hungarian Empire. Prague boasted a sizeable Jewish population, including members of Kafka's family. Prague there are two languages used in Prague. Most of Prague's working-class spoke Czech, while the elite spoke German, the language of the imperial rulers. Kafka spoke both languages, but German was his favourite. Linguistically, he was isolated from society. Kafka spoke mostly German in Czech-speaking areas, and because he was a Jew with little to do with Judaism, he suffered from feelings of alienation from those around him all his life.
As the language of the Jewish community became German, Jews in Prague, like Kafka’s, found themselves in a profound dilemma with linguistic nationalism. Jews in Prague did business in German, were educated, read German literature, and even went to German theatre. In a tense atmosphere, the language contributed to the rise of anti-Semitism. Kafka received a rigorous education that placed great value on the classics. In 1901 he entered the University of Charles Ferdinand with literary ambitions, intending to study chemistry. After two weeks, Gregor quit law chemistry, switched to German literature, and studied law again. However, he said he chose law because he did not like it and required the least amount of mental energy.
After graduating, he worked in the judiciary for a year before moving into the insurance profession. Disliked by his first employer and the long hours, he went to the Bohemian workers' compensation institute in 1908 and spent the rest of his working life there. Kafka claimed that he only accepted jobs that involved evaluating the workers' claims because the short hours
and decent wages gave him the time and opportunity to write. He is a conscientious employee. For example, Kafka became interested in famous Yiddish plays, and he tried to learn Hebrew in his later years. However, he never fully embraced Zionism and remained vague about Judaism. The depth of his involvement in both philosophies is debatable, as he refused to agree. As a result, he cannot be placed in a simple political category.
At the time Metamorphoses was written, the province of Prague was the province of Prague (Czech Republic), a member of the Prague Slavic Congress (1848 to World War I) and in the Czech Alliance with the Austrian Empire (Benáček, 2001). did. Czech leaders proclaimed Slavic membership at the Prague Slavic Congress of 1848, but this did not affect the Czech economy. However, the only significant natural alliance was brought from the Slovaks on stage. German is becoming one of the most critical components of the Czech economy. Germany was more important than what Austria offered, and Germany's centralist and nationalistic tendencies were entirely unacceptable to the Czechs, so they supported Austria economically and politically. Czechs recognise that the economy and management must be their own, not for the local German-born and Austrian economy and prosperity.
You once asked me why I was afraid of you. I do not know, as always, what I am answer, partly of the fear of you and partly because of the fear there are so many subtly until block me to said.....
The letter to his father, Herman Kafka, was written in November 1919 and has not yet been delivered to him. At 36, Kafka began writing condolences to his father, who was considered an authoritarian. The collection of letters was later published as a book titled Letters to Father. Unlike her father, Julie Loewy is a gentle and loving mother.
The relationship between Gregor and his father is similar to that of Franz and his father, Hermann. The Metamorphosis is similar to some of Kafka's diary entries. It shows him imagining his annihilation in dozens of creative ways in which he was constantly harassed and yelled at. From this point on, Gregor's physical and mental condition continued to deteriorate. Gregor thought he felt like a stranger and did not want to be invaded. This feeling may be the same feeling of alienation Kafka felt in his own life after being abused by his father. Modood and Thompson stated that alienation is associated with the feeling of displeasure, unhappiness, offence and resentment (2022) Comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis reveals how he wrote the twisted tale of life. Gregor's emotional and physical abuse is similar to what Kafka experiences in real life. While writing his literary work, Kafka feels trapped in his room. He describes it as an "apartment noise centre". He was
unable to leave the house to escape the noise and harassment.
CONCLUSION
Alienation is a social phenomenon that modern man usually experiences. Alienation is a condition where someone is shoved aside by their society. Based on Marx, alienation happens because man does not experience himself as the acting agent in his grasp of the world but because the world (nature, others, and he) remains alien to him. Based on the analysis, alienation happens because a human, as a modern man, ignores himself. They forget that, as humans, they need a world confession that his existence exists. This research uses Fromm's three mechanisms of escape theory to analyse how modern man escapes from the psychological problem (alienation) and gets his freedom.
The freedom of modern man is usually burdened. A modern man adopts three mechanisms of escape authoritarianism, destructiveness, and conformity. By using these escape mechanisms, they want to reduce the frightening of aloneness and powerlessness. Authoritarianism is divided into two tendencies, masochistic and sadistic. Conformity is a mechanical solution that most ordinary individuals find in modern society.
As the author of The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka has an opinion about the significant character portrayed in this novella. His family influences the psychological condition of Gregor Samsa as a significant character. The author writes The Metamorphosis based on his real life. The condition of Gregor Samsa as a central character was the same as Franz Kafka's when he was young. Kafka experienced pressure from his father when he wanted to be a writer. His father asked him to be a lawyer, the exact condition also experienced by Gregor. His father asks Gregor to be a breadwinner in the family.
Kafka shows his disapproval toward the idea of a modern man that has alienated himself from his family or himself to not pay attention to himself and his existence in the world. Kafka also tries to show the world that he is successful in gaining his aspiration to become the writer he expects.
At first, the Metamorphosis is just a word collection in his diary that he write to wreak his feelings when he is under pressure from his father. However, in the end, Kafka decides to publish The Metamorphosis as a novella. The Metamorphosis alarms us, as a society of a particular country, to pay attention to what is happening in our surroundings to anticipate upcoming events. Family is a significant element that influences the personality of their member. The personality of Gregor Samsa as a major character is also influenced by his family.
The Metamorphosis gives a bleak view of a modern man's life who has been alienated by his family or himself in that era. The Metamorphosis also gives a bleak view of a man who has been ignoring himself to make him subservient to his family. This novella also teaches us how a modern man escapes from his burdened freedom.
Acknowledgement: This research was supported by Faculty of Humanities-Universitas Jember.
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